Shuttle box control for shuttle changing looms



. I, B M v a 4 Attorney June 8, 1937. w WAT-HE SHUTTLE BOX CONTROL FORSHUTTLE CHANGING LOOMS Filed Jan. 15, 1936 s Sheets-Sheet 1 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Inv r Att y June 8, 1937. w; M. WATTlE SHUTTLE BOXCONTROL FOR SHUTTLE CHANGING LOOMS Filed Jan. 15, 1936 June 8, 1937. w.M. WATTIE SHUTTLE BOX CONTROL FOR-SHUTTLE CHANGING YLOOMS Filed Jan. 15,1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 v Kw? Patented June 8, 1937 UNITED I STATESSHUTTLE BOX CONTROL FOR SHUTTLE CHANGING LOOMS William M. Wattie,Worcester, Mass, assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester,Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application January 15, 1936,Serial No. 59,258

9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in shuttle changing looms and itis the general object of the invention to make provision for increasedcertainty in the passage of the reserve shuttle from the magazine to thelay.

In that type of shuttle changer wherein shifting shuttle boxes arelocated at the magazine end of the loom, one box to be raised to receivea shuttle while a box thereunder receives the spent shuttle, it has beencustomary to use a cover for the upper box which is lifted to permit theincoming reserve shuttle to pass into the upper box. The mechanism foroperating the cover has included a cam fixed to some part of themagazine structure and I have found that in certain instances the blowwhich the cam receives incident to raising of the cover causesundesirable jarring and vibration of the magazine which occurs when thereserve shuttle is in motion. It is accordingly an important object ofmy present invention to locate the cam where it can cause no disturbanceto the incoming reserve shuttle, such for instance, as on the lay. y

In these previous constructions the cam has heldthe cover raised duringthe period of time in which the reserve shuttle passes from the magazineinto the top box, and lowering of the shuttle box has been necessary topermit the cover to descend. During the down motion of the box .30 thereis a tendency for the new shuttle to hesitate,

since its rear wall slides along the lay end which forms the box back.It is a further object of my present invention to provide a cam soconstructed as to release the cover while the box is still in itshighest position for the purpose of exerting a downward pressure on theshuttle before the box starts down. In this way more assurance is giventhat the incoming shuttlewill' be properly located in its shuttle boxand ready for picking.

It is a more specific object of my present invention to provide apivoted cam movable about an axis supported by the lay and restrainedagainst motion in onedirection to be effective to lift and release thecover before the boxes complete their up motion, the cam moving aboutits pivot away from the stop in order to prevent damage as the boxes andcover descend.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, my invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of myinvention is set forth, Fig. 1 is an end elevation of parts of a loommade according to my present invention, the lay and shuttle box beingshown in section with the shuttle box in normal down position,

Fig. 2 is a view on a smaller scale of the upper part of Fig. 1, thestructure of the magazine being shown in more detail, a

Fig. 3 is a plan view looking in the direction of arrow 3, Fig. 2,

Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are diagrammatic views show ing the parts in thedifferent positions they assume during a shuttle changing operation, and

Fig. 8 is a detail front elevation taken in the direction of arrow 8,Fig. 3.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the loom frame [0 supports arelatively large bracket ll having a foot l2 bolted to the loom frame. Aplate IS on the bracket extends laterally from the loom frame andconstitutes the main support for the magazine, having secured thereto apair of stands M to support a rod l5. Ears IS on each bracket haveadjusting screws I! by means of which the stands M can be adjustedvertically with respect to the bracket l I, bolts 18 fastening thestands [4 to the bracket.

The magazine M comprises front and rear plates 20 and 21, respectively,held together by bolts 22 to define a guideway for reserve shuttles Sand the rear plate has hubs 23 through which the rod i5 passes, onlyonehub being shown in Fig. 2. By this construction the magazine is mountedfor pivotal adjustment around rod [5 and is held partly by set screwsone of which is shown at 24 and partly by a screw 25 the head of whichis pivoted at 26 to the rear magazine plate. The screw 25 passes throughthe bracket I I and is held in adjusted position by lock nuts 21. Byreason of the adjustment described it is possible to vary the point fromwhich the reserve shuttles S are delivered from the bottom of themagazine relatively to the lay L. A platform 30 extendshorizontallyunder the stack of reserve shuttles and is secured to the rear magazineplate, supporting the bottom reserve shuttle, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.r

The magazine frame has a long hub 35 through which slides a plunger 36having a head 31 which lies behind and extends around theends of thebottom reserve shuttle. The head 31 may be formed and operate asdescribed in copending application Serial No. 689,209 urged rearwardly,or to the right as shown in Fig. 2, by a tension spring 38, the forwardend of which is attached to said plunger and the rear end of which isheld to fixed structure supported by the loom frame. An operating pin 39extends laterally from the plunger and is received by the forked end 40of a shuttle advancing lever 4|.

A support 42 is secured to the bracket H and has mounted in the lowerend thereof a pivot pin 43 on which the lever 4| swings. The upper arm44 of lever 4| carries a cam roll 45 to engage the face 46 of a cam 4Tmovable pivotally about a stud 48 also mounted in the bracket 42. An arm49 extends upwardly from the cam and is pivotally connected to the upperend of an actuator rod 59.

The rod 50 has adjustable pivotal connection with the rear end of anormally stationary lever 55 movable about a fixed stud 56, see Fig. 1.The forward end of lever 55 supports a yieldable twopart link 5'! bymeans of a pin 58. The lower end of the link is connected to a boxlifter rod 59.

A lifting dog 60 is pivotedas'at 6 I to a regularly rocking lever 62also pivoted on stud 56 and carrying at its rear end an adjustablypositioned roll 63 for engagement with a cam 64. The latter is securedto the bottomshaft 65 of the loom and rotates in the direction of arrow11., Fig. 1. A ten- 5 sion spring 66 interposed between a finger 61 oflever 62 and a fixed part 68 of the loom holds roll 63against cam 64.

In normal loom operation lever 62 has a rising motion at the forward endthereof, to the left of Fig. 1, on those beats of the loom when theactive shuttle is atthe opposite end of the loom from the magazine, butlever 55 remains down because dog 69 is held clear of lever 55 by aspring 69 interposed between the dog and lever 62. A connector 10controlled by weft detector mechanism not shown is operative on shuttlechanging beats of the loom to rock the dog 60 about its pivot so, thatit will lie under a ledge 1 l' on lever 55, thus causing the box lifterrod 59 to rise when a shuttle change is called.

The lifter rod supports upper and lower shuttle boxes 15 and 16,respectively, which are normally down so that the upper box 15 isopposite the shuttle race TI to receive the active shuttle arriving fromthe opposite end of the loom. Curved shuttle supports 18 extendrearwardly from the lay and lie close to the platform.

, In the operation of the matter thus far described the plunger 36-isnormally in rear position with the shuttle advancing head thereof closebehind the bottom reserve shuttle of the magazine which'restsxontheplatform 30. On shuttle changing beats of the loom dog 69 will berocked to raise the forward end of lever 55 as already described,causing two concurring results the first of which is to lower rod 50 andthereby rock cam 41 so that the incline face 46 thereof will oscillatelever 4i about pivot 43 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 tomove the plunger and therefore the head together with the reserveshuttle forwardly or to the left as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2. The extentof motion of the plunger is sufiicient to move the rear wall of theincoming reserve shuttle slightly in advance of the vertical rollwhichforms the rear part of the shuttle boxes 15 and 16 andis carried bythe lay. I

The second result attending oscillation of lever 55 is the raising ofbox l6'into alignment with the shuttle race H so that said lower box canreceive the incoming depleted shuttle. The upper box 15 issimultaneously raised to a position closely adjacent the delivery mouthof the magazine to receive the incoming'reserve shuttle.

The matter thus far described of itself forms no part of my presentinvention, and reference may be had to Patents Nos. 1,753,233;1,834,302; and copending application Serial No. 460,746 for a furtherunderstanding of the box motion and shuttle delivery mechanism.

In carrying my invention into effect I provide box 15 with a coverhaving aligned pivot studs 9! rotatable in bearings 89 on the shuttlebox '55. A torsion spring 92 around one of the studs operates normallyto hold the cover yieldingly down.

, An arm 93 extends upwardly from the cover as shown particularly inFigs. 1 and 2 and may have an offset end 94, see Fig. 8. The cover maybe substantially the same as that shown in the aforesaid applicationSerial No. 460,746.

As previously stated the cover has heretofore been raised by a cam fixedto the magazine, but as set forth herein I provide a movable camsupported by the lay. Accordingly, a bracket 95 securedto the lay asshown in Fig. 1 extends upwardly and forwardly and has a stud 96 onwhich pivots a depending cam 91. A light tension spring 98 holds the camagainst an adjusted stop screw 99 carried by the bracket 95. The cam hasa thin wing I00 extending laterally therefrom and having a lowerupwardly and forwardly inclined surface IUI which terminates in anupwardly extending dwell surface l92.. The surface I92 is short enoughso that the stud 94 can rise thereabove during the latter part of the upmotion of the boxes, and the wing 'is thin enough to permit the stud 94to pass therebehind as the boxes descend.

During normal loom running the cam 91 will be held against the stopscrew 99 by spring 98 and restrained against further rearward movementaround pivot 96 by the stop screw. Since bracket 95 is fixed on the laythe axis of the cam is stationary relatively thereto so that as theboxes rise the lug 94 will engage and slide along inclined surface l0lto rock the cover about axis 9| in a counter-clockwise direction asviewed in Figs. 1 and 2. When the lug 94 reaches the dwell I02 the coveris suificiently raised to permit the bottom reserve shuttle to passthereunder. The cover is not raised so as to assume a truly verticalposition but is somewhat inclined, the upper left corner of the incomingshuttle moving forwardly at the same time that the boxes rise, therebypermitting the cover while inclined with the lug 94 on dwell I92 to lieclose to the shuttle. This is the position shown diagrammatically inFig. 4.

As the boxes continue to rise the parts assume the position shown inFig. 5, the lay moving rearwardly as indicated by the arrow b and theboxes continuing to rise as shown by arrow c.

. As the boxes reach the upper limit of their motion the lug 94 willpass over the top of the dwell I02, whereupon spring 92 will rock thecover in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 6, moving the coverdownwardly toward the freshly inserted reserve shuttle. If the latterhesitates as it moves into the box 15 because of friction the cover willassist in properly seating it. This feature of a cover which is returnedto normal position with respect to the shuttle box when the latter isfully raised is an important part of my present invention.

As the boxes descend as indicated by arrow (1, Fig. '7, with the laymoving forwardly as indicated by arrow e the lug 94 will descend behindthe cam and engage the rear part of Wing I99, moving the latter awayfrom the stop screw 99 against the action of spring 98 and around pivot96, all as shown in Fig. '7, to prevent breakage of the engaging parts.As the boxes continue to descend the lug will move away from the cam andthe latter will be returned to normal position by spring 98. l 7

It is to be understood that the boxes start to rise as the lay movesrearwar'olly toward the mag azine and are in highest position when thelay is in rearmost or back center position. The boxes remain raiseduntil the depleted shuttle arriving from the opposite end enters lowerbox 16, after which the earn (it operates to lower the boxes so that theempty shuttle in box 16 can pass under the stationary binder H0 on thelay, said binder being shown in patent to Turner No. 1,597,124. Theboxes will assume their normal position with the fresh reserve shuttlein box 15 aligned with the shuttle race in time for the next pickingoperation of the loom.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple meansfor permitting the cover of the box IE to return to its normal downposition while the boxes are in high position relatively to the lay,this operation enabling the cover to assist in properly seating thereserve shuttle should the latter hesitate in its motion into theelevated box. It will further be seen that this result is accomplishedby mounting the cam which operates the cover on the lay, therebypreventing any Vibration resulting from cover lifting operation fromdisturbing the reserve shuttle as it is moved forwardly by the plungerhead. It will further be seen that the cam is pivoted and that theincline on the rear lower part of wing It"! is such as to tend furtherto turn the cover in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 6, forinstance. Springs 92 for the cover and 98 for the cam add their effectsto cause return of the cover.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay, a magazine to deliver a reserveshuttle, a shuttle box on the lay normally remote from the magazine, acover for the shuttle box normally in box closing position, means tomove the shuttle box toward the magazine on a shuttle changing beat ofthe loom, and mechanism mounted on the lay rendered operative solely bymotion of the shuttle box relatively to the lay during the time that theshuttle box moves toward the magazine first to move the cover to boxopening position to permit reception of a reserve shuttle from themagazine by the box and thereafter as the shuttle box continues toapproach the magazine to move the cover to box closing position.

2. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay, a reserve shuttle magazine abovethe lay, a shuttle box on the lay normally in down position remote fromthe magazine, means to raise the box on a shuttle changing beat of theloom, a cover for the box normally in box closing position, mechanismmounted on the lay over the shuttle box and operative during the firstpart of the up motion of the box to move the cover to open position torender the box capable of receiving a reserve shuttle from the magazine,and means operative during the latter part of the up motion of theshuttle box to return the cover to normal closed position, the cover byits closing motion assisting in moving a reserve shuttle into the box,the motion of the cover being due solely to motion of the shuttle boxrelatively to the lay.

3. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay, a reserve shuttle magazine abovethe lay, a shuttle box on the lay normally in down position remote fromthe magazine, means to raise the box on a shuttle changing beat of theloom, a cover for the box normally in box closing position, mechanismmounted on the lay operative during the first part of the up motion ofthe box to move the cover to open position to render the box capable ofreceiving a reserve shuttle from the magazine, and return meansoperative during the latter part of the up motion of the shuttle boxtoreturn the cover to normal closed position, the cover by its closingmotion assisting in moving a reserve shuttle into the box, saidmechanism and return means being dependent for their operation solely onmotion of the shuttle box.

4. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay movable back and forth therein, amagazine to deliver a reserve shuttle when the lay is at one extremeposition of its movement, a shuttle box on the lay movable relatively tothe latter toward the magazine to receive a reserve shuttle from saidmagazine, a cover for the shuttle box normally in down position, a camon the lay, means to establish cooperative relation between the cam andcover when the box moves toward the magazine as the lay approaches saidextreme position, the height of the cam being less than the distance thebox moves toward the magazine after engagement between said cam and saidlast means to carry the latter above the cam, and means to return thecover to normal position when the box is in the upper part of its motionrelatively to the lay, the motion of the cover being due solely tomotion of the shuttle box relatively to the lay.

5. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay movable toward and from an extremeposition, a reserve shuttle magazine located adjacent said extremeposition of the lay to deliver a reserve shuttle, a shuttle box on thelay normally remote from the magazine, a cover for the shuttle boxnormally down, box lifting means to move said box relatively to the laytoward the magazine, and mechanism including a cam on the lay and a partcarried by the cover to engage said cam rendered effective solely byrising motion of the box and operative during the time that the laymoves toward said extreme position first to raise the cover to afford aclear passage for a reserve shuttle into the shuttle box and thereafterlower said cover to the end that the latter will assist in placing thereserve shuttle into the shuttle box before the lay starts to move awayfrom said extreme position.

6. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay movable toward and from an extremeposition, a reserve shuttle magazine to deliver a shuttle adjacent saidextreme position, a shuttle box on the lay normally in down position, apivoted cam on the lay over the shuttle box, a cover for the boxnormally down, means to move the shuttle box toward the magazine andcam, a stop to limit pivotal movement of the cam in one direction, anelement moving withthe cover and operative when the box is raised toengage one side of said cam to effect lifting of the cover duringmovement of the boxes toward the magazine, the means to move the boxescarrying the element above the cam, and return means thereafteroperative to lower the cover to normal down position relatively to theshuttle box to engage a shuttle in the box and move said element down onthe other side of the cam, the latter movable away from said stop as theshuttle box moves away from the magazine to permit return of the elementto normal position, said element and return means dependent for theiroperation solely on motion of the shuttle box relatively to the lay.

'7. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay movable toward and from an extremeposition, a magazine to deliver a reserve shuttle adjacent saidposition, a shuttle box on the lay normally remote from the magazine,box lifter means to move the box toward the magazine, a cover for thebox normally in down position, an actuating arm movable with the cover,a camv pivoted to the lay above said arm, movement of the box toward themagazine by the box lifter means causing cooperative relation betweenthe actuating arm and the cam due solely to up motion of the shuttlebox, and said cam yielding on the down motion of the box to permit theactuating arm and cover when in normal position relatively 20 to theshuttle box to move downwardly.

8. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay movable toward and from an extremeposition, a magazine to deliver a reserve shuttle adjacent said extremeposition, a shuttle box normally remote 25 from the magazine and mountedon the lay, a

cover for said shuttle box normally in position to'resist movement of ashuttle into or out of the shuttle box, a cam pivoted to the lay abovethe cover, a cooperating arm on the cover for 30 engagement with thecam, said cam having a lower inclined surface and an upper dwell, boxlifter means to move the box toward the magazine and effective to causeengagement between the actuator arm and the inclined surface to move thecover to abnormal position and thereafter when said arm engages a dwellto maintain said cover in abnormal position to permit entrance of areserve shuttle into the box and then move said actuating arm above thecam, and means thereupon effective to move the cover to normal downposition relatively to the shuttle box while the latter is in raisedposition.

9. In a shuttle changing loom, a lay, a magazine to deliver a reserveshuttle, a shuttle box on the lay normally remote from the magazine, boxlifter means to move the box relatively to the lay by a given distancetoward the magazine, a cover for the shuttle box normally closing saidbox, return means for the cover effective to move the latter towardnormal position, and means on the lay rendered operative solely bymotion of the shuttle box relatively to the lay during a space less thansaid given distance and terminating before the box has moved all of saiddistance to move the cover to open position, said return means efiectivewhen the box is moving during the latter part of said given distance toreturn the cover to normal down position relatively to the box.

WILLIAM M. WATTIE.

